UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE: THINGS TO DO IN HALLSTATT

A REMARK­ABLE TOWN WITH 7,000 YEARS OF HISTORY

Today, Hallstatt is a name known throughout the world, either through its intriguing history, its listing as a UNESCO World Heritage Site or because an exact copy of the town was built in China a few years ago. We consider this copy proof that people all over the world yearn to have a place as wonderful as Hallstatt close to them: a place to unwind, to take a leisurely stroll and to discover and explore extraordinary culture and history.

STEEPED IN HISTORY

Hallstatt’s history really is remarkable: Hallstatt has been mining and working with salt for 7,000 years, an ongoing testimony to human culture. The significance of this weighs so heavily that an entire epoch of the Iron Age has been named for the town – the period referred to as Hallstatt culture (850 to 500 BCE). A full 7,000 years later, archaeologists began uncovering a whole series of astounding artefacts in Hallstatt’s mine shafts, making Hallstatt a historic landmark.

 

To this day, Hallstatt’s long history is still palpable everywhere, with the Hallstatt World Heritage museum and the world’s oldest show mine, Hallstatt Salzwelten, a trove of information for visitors from near and far. Did you know, for example, that Hallstatt Salzwelten still mine salt today? Or that the Dammwiese above the Hallstatt salt mine already served as salt harvesting grounds for the ancient Celts?

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CULTURE TRIPS

IN THE HEART OF

AUSTRIA

Nonetheless, Hallstatt is about more than just salt, a fact you’ll quickly recognise on your culture trail holiday in one of Austria’s prettiest municipalities. There’s so much more to explore here: Hallstatt’s wealth of nature and cultural heritage, not least present in the architecture of its listed buildings, is part of the UNESCO World Heritage. The “world’s most beautiful lakeside town” has so much variety to offer – take a ship tour over Lake Hallstatt, go mountainbike trekking in the lake district or visit the very peaks of the Dachstein World Heritage Site. Reach the peaks of the mountain landscape and drink in the awe-inspiring vistas. During the cold season, the Salzkammergut transforms into a magical place, making the run-up to Christmas the year’s a time of heart-touching beauty: you’ll see seas of lights, winter wonderlands and Christmas markets wherever you turn.
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